Disaster drill gives Monroe County Courthouse a taste of how to react

How would county government maintain order and continue offering services if a major disaster struck the Monroe County Courthouse?

CHRIS REBER

This article has been changed from the print version. A quote from Deputy Court Administrator Deb Rivera had been attributed to another source.

How would county government maintain order and continue offering services if a major disaster struck the Monroe County Courthouse?

That was the problem faced by Monroe County employees Thursday as they practiced implementing the county's Continuity of Operations/Continuity of Government plan.

Consultant Rocco DiPietro laid out the scenario: Terrorists set off a bomb outside the courthouse on the day their leader is set to go on trial. After the initial medical response, responders realize the bomb is a radioactive "dirty" bomb, forcing them to evacuate the area around the courthouse for up to a month.

Now the consultant, Cocciardi and Associates Inc., will offer recommendations on how the county can update its plan to better coordinate its response.

County commissioners, who led the exercise, said they learned that the plan works, but will benefit from improvements.

"It's not fractured, but it could use some polishing," Charles Garris said.

They also said employees should get to know it better.

"Everybody needs a continuity plan, and they need to know that plan," Suzanne McCool said. "All of this needs to be spelled out and we need to be prepared."

The exercise involved every office, from the courthouse to the administration building and Children and Youth, discussing how they would react in case of a major disaster.

Each department at the courthouse has its own emergency plan, but attendees said they don't often see those plans working in conjunction with one another.

"Every department has its own plan, and our job is to merge those plans," Deputy Court Administrator Deb Rivera. "There were a lot of discrepancies about where people report (in case of an emergency)."

The group discussed the logistical challenges of relocating departments and how information technologies would be essential to connecting employees with the software they use on a daily basis.

They also said there would be heavy reliance on the county's RSAN Ready Alert Monroe system. Usually the system is used to notify residents of emergencies, but it can also allow the county government to get messages out to its employees.